Upload speed is almost entirely dependent on your internet connection - there's no added delay introduced by our system - and with most ISPs (internet service provider), max upload speed is a tiny fraction of the download speed. For example, with Shaw Internet's basic plan, even if you're getting the fastest possible connection, the time to download a 130 MB file would be under 4 minutes, but the time to upload that same file via that same Shaw connection is almost 40 minutes.
Most people are surprised to see how low their internet upload speed is compared to their download speed, because we're used to downloading files rather than uploading them. And if you're really curious about your upload speed, you can check what speeds you're getting on your internet connection using this site: http://www.speedtest.net/. It's pretty eye opening, and gives you an idea of what to expect when uploading large files.
Here's an example from speedtest.net. As you can see, the upload speed is five times slower than the download speed!
Troubleshoot your browser
Sometimes, having a speedy internet connection doesn't guarantee ease. Browser issues are very common and sometimes contribute to decreased performance speeds. Check out these Browser Troubleshooting tips to get back to what you do best! We recommend using the Thinkific platform on Google Chrome to take full advantage of the features the platform has to offer.
That said, there are a couple of simple ways to reduce your video upload time.
Recommendations for Reducing Video Upload Time
Reduce the file size
The first suggestion we always give is to make sure the file you're creating is as small a file size as possible. Depending on what you're creating your files in, you can encode your video to be appropriate for web use and have a smaller file size. Size always varies of course, but ensuring a small file size to begin with means you have to upload less!
Note that reducing the file size doesn't have to mean reducing the quality of the video. Please see here for our recommended specs for exporting video files.
Reducing the file size not only means a quicker upload time, but a quicker video loading time too -- happy students!
Bulk upload your files
Rather than uploading your files one-by-one, head to your Video Library to upload all of your video files at once. From this page you can upload videos stored on your computer, or even directly from a number of cloud-based storage services (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc).
If you have an intermittent internet connection, we recommend uploading from a cloud-based solution like Dropbox or Google Drive instead of directly from your computer. This way, if your connection cuts out part way through, it will automatically reconnect to the cloud solution to finish the upload.
This is a much quicker way to get your files uploaded and ready to go. Then all you need to do is head to the course builder to create your lessons!
Known Video Uploading Issues
Uploading videos through Google Drive
If you're failing to upload large files through Google Drive, don't be alarmed! This is a known issue and we are working hard behind the scenes to have it fixed. In the meantime, follow the article for a temporary workaround. We thank you for your patience!
Hopefully these tips help, but if you're experiencing unusually long upload times or an error with uploading, please send the details over to us and we'll be happy to look into it for you!